The Eyes Have It !

~ Hello Everyone ~
Welcome To Daniel’s Critical Corner !
Under The Knife Today:  Repo! The Genetic Opera

For those of you not familiar with the cult classic “The Rocky Horror
Picture Show”, there are a couple of things you should know.  Never
tell anyone you are a virgin if you find yourself watching a Midnight
 showing, and be sure to bring some paper towels and toast (to toss 
at the movie screen).

In regards to the new cult classic in-the-making, “Repo! The Genetic
Opera”, you may want to bring paper towels but the only thing that 
will be tossed is your cookies.

I didn’t know what to expect while watching this little underground
gem.  A goth rock-opera of all things.  Go figure.  It seemed to me 
the only people that would ever dig this sort of vulgar venue would
 be angry young chicks with jet-black hair and lipstick to match !!!

Despite being an affront to my delicate sensibilities, I actually got
a kick out of this gross flick.  (Only after channeling my own inner
goth chick).  Her name is Ragea.  She wears spiked collars and will
NEVER like you because you smell like flowers.

I digress.  Big time.  So, our story takes place in the future, (2056
to be exact) !  The world has fallen victim to an outbreak of organ
failures, and people are dropping like flies.  Desperate times do call
for desperate measures, and entrepreneur Rotti Largo comes in to
save the day…  For a price.

Rotti (Paul Sorvino) is the CEO of a genetic “second hand” shop,
where you can actually buy second hands…  You can also throw
in a lung or two for good measure !   Heck, grab yourself a new 
designer liver while you’re at it. 

This hellish company calls itself  “GeneCo”, but they are really a 
mafia organization with anything but good intentions.  It seems
like a good idea at first, but if someone misses just one payment
 on their new body part, the Repo Man comes to collect.  No, he
is not after the money…

The Repo Man (played here by “Little Britain’s” Anthony Head) is
going to rip your still-beating heart right out of your body, and
then he is going to use your corpse as a puppet.  While singing
a couple of songs…  And dancing a little bit as well !

Yes, this is a musical with GUTS.  I always felt that “The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre” would have been just delightful if they had
added some Broadway flair…  And, truth be told, wouldn’t “The
Sound of Music” have been more entertaining if Julie Andrews
 got her leg caught in a bear trap after spinning around on that 
 hillside ?  The hills are alive…  With the sound of screaming !

The Hills Are…  SNAP  …AYEEEE ! 

 Hmmm…  What about Doris Day actually shooting someone in
“Calamity Jane” ?  Or Tevye falling off the roof with his fiddle
and landing on a bed of nails ?  The possibilities are endless.

Exploring possibilities is exactly what “Repo!” does…  We are
introduced to the Repo Man’s daughter, Shilo (Alexa Vega), a
young lady with a mysterious blood disease, that may or may
not have been contracted accidentally.  It is possible she got
sick from her mother, who we later learn died from unnatural
causes !

Shilo is locked in her room most of her life, kept there by her
father (who she thinks is a respected doctor).  She does not
know that he hunts people down and kills them…  She is also
unaware of his amazing singing chops.  Shilo has quite a set
of pipes herself as she belts out angst-filled tunes such as
  “Infected” and “Seventeen” (the latter featuring Joan Jett) !

In addition to Joan Jett, the legendary Sarah Brightman is on
board to give this flick some mad creds.  She plays an opera
singer named “Blind Mag”…  A woman with a debt to GeneCo
signed in blood for her totally trippy digital eyes !  Shilo has
always worshipped Mag from afar, and fate ends up bringing
them together as they join forces against the evil Rotti.

Rotti wants to destroy all of our anti-heroes, but he actually
cares for Shilo in a distorted kind of way…  His children are a
pack of self-absorbed losers.  Upon hearing that he does not
have long to live, he puts Shilo to the test as a possible heir
to his legacy.

Truly a horrific bunch, Rotti Largo’s progeny want nothing but 
gold, fame and drugs. This is evident in the strangely catchy
“Mark It Up” number, where the two brothers vie for dominant
positions in the company while their sister looks on.

The fellows are Luigi and Pavi, (both sociopaths) and the girl is
Amber Sweet…  Amber is portrayed rather sympathetically by a
  vamped-out Paris Hilton !  Selfish at first, she is the only one in 
  this group that shows empathy or remorse for her mean actions
when the curtain falls.

I See Paris.  I See France.  I See Leather
Underpants !!!

  Trouble with Amber is, she is addicted to many terrible things…
  She loves getting multiple surgeries, just for the thrill of it.  And
she is hooked on a blue liquid drug called Zydrate.

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To better explain, here’s part of the song “Zydrate Anatomy”
(as sung by Graverobber and The Zydrate Support Group).

Zydrate comes in a little glass vile…  And the little glass vile
goes into the gun like a battery.  And the Zydrate gun goes
somewhere against your anatomy.  And when the gun goes
off, it sparks, and you’re ready for surgery.  Surgery…

It’s clean.

It’s clear.

It’s pure.

It’s rare.

It takes you there.

~  ~  ~  ~ ~

 All of this becomes BIG trouble for Amber, when she looses
face in front of everyone.  Literally.  Her face falls off and
 hits the ground.  (Not really much of a stretch for Hilton) !

Indeed, everything is leading us up to a Grand Guignol style 
finale.  One that makes even “Sweeney Todd” look like a fun
 and comical romp !!!  All of the players wind up on stage for
GeneCo’s annual “Genetic Opera”, where Blind Mag is slated
to perform her last song ever, “Chromaggia”.

Her retirement gets started a tad bit early, however, when
 a harness she uses to fly across the stage breaks over the 
set.  She plummets down and gets impaled on a gate… 
 

Sarah Brightman’s latest CD:  $18.00

Sarah Brightman live in concert:  $200.00

Sarah Brightman impaled on a gate:  Priceless

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Shilo and her father have a showdown with Rotti and his kids
soon after Mag’s demise.  In true operatic fashion, people die
tragic (and grizzly) deaths as old secrets are revealed.

This film won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.  After watching it, I
was disgusted.  But the songs were stuck in my head, and in
no time I bought the soundtrack.  It’s sick…  Yet slick !  You
have been duly warned.     

Fierce fun, “Repo! The Genetic Opera” scores with gore !!!

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Would I Recommend This ?  Yes

Daniel’s Critical Rating:  “7.5” out of “10”